After 42 years, an Arni's 'living legend' retires

After 42 years, Dave "Stoney" Stone is retiring from Arni's.
Dartunorro Clark

A retirement party for Dave Stone is planned for Aug. 31 at the Arni’s in Market Square, where he has worked for the past 42 years.(Photo: Dartunorro Clark/J&C)

Dave Stone wasn't looking for anything special.

It was the summer of 1972, and Stone, 17 at the time and fresh out of high school, was looking for a job to earn extra cash before his classes began at Purdue University.

And as luck would have it, there was a fairly new pizzeria named Arni's in the Lafayette Market Square looking to hire a busboy.

Stone applied and was hired instantly. He began busing table after table. After that summer, Stone decided to continue working at Arni's while also attending Purdue. Before his junior year, he was promoted to pizza counter manager.

Forty-two summers and thousands of pizzas later, Stone, now 59, doesn't have a degree hanging on a wall in his one-story family home in Lafayette, but he still has his Arni's uniform. And, like clockwork, he leaves home about 2:30 p.m. every day to arrive at 3 p.m. to do what he does best: make pizzas and greet customers with his aw-shucks pleasantries and humble smile.

Stone discovered advantages in getting up every day for 42 years to serve pizzas to the local community.

"It was such a nice place to work," he said. "It was such a positive environment, so I just decided to continue working there.

"Who you work for has got a lot to do with how long you stay."

Now, Stone has decided to hang up his apron for good. Standing for several hours daily for that many years has taken a toll on Stone, and he realizes that it's time to take a seat.

"The job that I'm doing is suited for someone much younger," he said. "But I'm going to miss the customers and the camaraderie with the workers."

Opened by Arnold "Arni" Cohen in 1965 in Lafayette, Arni's is an Indiana original and staple throughout the state. But for Stone, the restaurant represents something that shaped him into who he is today— a man of quiet humility, with an infallible work ethic.

Many people cannot say that the most formative years of their lives were spent working behind a pizza counter, but that's what puts Stone in a class by himself.

Arni's is where he met his wife, Mary, who worked as a waitress. The restaurant also is where his three children worked their first summer jobs. He said his family took Arni's well-known mantra, "Meet You At Arni's," to "a whole new level."

"It's been kind of a family affair if there ever was one. We lived and breathed Arni's."

For Brad Cohen, Arni's son who took over the business after his father died in 2002, Stone — whom he and everyone else calls Stoney — has been an exemplar employee. As the longest-serving employee at the original location, Stone is not a vestige of the past, Cohen said, but a model for all new employees to emulate.

"My heart hurts when guys like Dave Stone retires. He's kind of a living legend" Cohen said. "If there's a legacy to be left, I would hope his work ethic passes on to our other employees as well."

After his official send-off at the end of the month, Stone is looking forward to new adventures — as long as he's not on his feet all day.

"After you've been doing something for so long, you fear a little bit about doing something else," he said. "But, I'm not going to waste away to nothing, I'm still young enough to work."

Saying goodbye

The staff of Arni's is hosting a retirement party for Dave "Stoney" Stone, who has worked at the restaurant for 42 years.